PacTV Relocates London Facility

LONDON—Pacific Television Center, a Los Angeles-based independent global transmission and production company, said that its London facility is moving to a new, larger building in London’s Tech City in EC1, also known as the Silicon Roundabout. Located near Farringdon Station and the new City Cross Rail, the broadcast services provider is commencing construction this spring, with plans to open the new facility in June 2015.

PacTV London’s new home will be twice as large and fully 3G capable. There are plans for two HD studios, 20 racks of collocation space, a UPS backup and on-site generator, as well as eight fixed and steerable satellite dishes.

“PacTV London was opened 10 years ago and since then, technology has changed and we have grown considerably,” said Paul Abbott, manager of PacTV London. “We have supported our clients through the global transition to HD video and digital audio, as well as the emergence of MPEG-4 and JPEG2000 transmission paths. Based on our experiences navigating these technological advances, we have doubled the backbone of our operation in PacTV Los Angeles and New York, and now, here as well in London, doubling our router capacity, all to meet and exceed the expectations of our clients well into the future. We are adding services and clients all the time. It is clear that our capabilities will just continue to grow.”

James Lewis, branch broadcast technician of PacTV London, said, “Currently we have the ability to monitor up to 96 windows on three screens. With the expansion, we will be able to increase that to as many as 480 windows on 15 monitors. The current installation has enabled London operators to view sources from around the world. A need that was evident as the team works daily with such global broadcasters as BSkyB, Network Ten Australia, and Al Jazeera, providing them with transmission support to ensure content reaches viewers consistently and on time.”

It is this rapid pace of growth that Abbott cites as the primary reason for moving from PacTV London’s current 1,800-square-foot facility to the new 4,000-square-foot space in the heart of Clerkenwell. Rounding out the project’s team will be JM Architects, designing the new dish farm, Absolute CAD as integrator, Total Studio Design for acoustics, and Stabb, Ltd., taking on the role of general builder and interior architects.